All That's Fair
by yukuro
Summary: After ending up stranded by a storm, Kanda encounters another troubling rival, of which Allen is oblivious to, as always. [Kanda x Allen, Jean x Allen]


**Disclaimer:** I own very few things. D:

**Pairing: **Kanda x Allen; Jean + Allen

**All That's Fair**

_By: yukuro_

They were on their way back from their third mission in a row together when the train malfunctioned and all passengers were ushered off it into the nearest station to take cover from the upcoming rainstorm. Allen's misty gray eyes had brightened when he heard which town they would be stopping in, and Kanda was hardly interested enough to care to ask. Instead, he grumbled and cursed faintly under his breath about their ill fortune all the way until a flash of stripes rolled into the train station and threw itself at Allen.

"Jean!" Allen laughed as the boy beamed up at him. "How'd you know we were here that quickly?"

"I was on my way home when I heard that there were some exorcists in town," the boy explained enthusiastically. "I was hoping it would be you! If you were here, you should have come to visit me, Allen, you traitor!"

Kanda raised an eyebrow at the exchange while cautiously folding his arms. Of course, he had hardly failed to notice the fact that the boy had still not released his hold around Allen's waist—the pretentious little brat. Kanda scowled just as Jean finally noticed his presence.

"Who's that, Allen?" he asked with a notable lack of interest. "Your girlfriend?"

In response to the sudden question, Allen spazzed, sputtered, and laughed nervously all at the same time, creating a truly interesting sight. In fact, a few heads turned in their direction, but Kanda's death glare happily scared them off. Finally managing to clear his throat and maintain his wildly spreading flush, Allen squeaked, "This is Kanda. He was my partner for last few missions."

Jean squinted a bit at the longhaired exorcist before shrugging and returning his full attention back to Allen, leaving Kanda officially ignored. "Allen, you should come to my house while the storm passes! Oh yeah, and your friend can come too if he wants."

Allen turned to smile sheepishly in response to Kanda's flaring annoyance. Apologetically, he lightly tugged on the older exorcist's sleeves. "We may as well, Kanda. Right?"

At the time, Kanda wanted nothing more than to curse and stab someone, but Allen's special skill of pacifying him (it was the opposite sometimes; no one could anger Kanda quite like Allen at times) managed to submerge his murderous aura and reduce him to muttering under his breath. As they continued down the street, Allen kept his light hold on Kanda's sleeve firm, which Jean had clearly noticed (he was staring). When the boy shifted his gaze to stare at Kanda, the older exorcist simply glared back before abruptly grabbing Allen's hand.

The snow-haired exorcist blinked at the sudden motion. It took him a few moments to realize Kanda was now dragging him forward by their linked hands. Their _linked_ hands. A blush immediately spread across his face like wildfire.

"Hey, Kanan!" Jean called.

"I-It's _Kanda_, Jean," Allen corrected in an embarrassed tone.

"Whatever," the boy replied with a shrug as he skated forward. A sickeningly innocent expression on his face, he held out a familiar onion-shaped object and handed it to the longhaired exorcist.

It exploded before Allen even had the chance to open his mouth in warning.

Kanda was fighting valiantly to keep his eyes from tearing up, something he was rather used to since he could not even remember the first or last time he cried. Despite his valiant attempts, his left eye twitched with as much dignity he could muster, and Jean snerked mischievously at him in response.

"Allen, you have such bad taste!"

The younger exorcist felt his jaw drop open lightly and his faint hold on Kanda's angrily twitching hand was the sole chain keeping the older boy from going completely berserk. Jean was still grinning cheekily up at them, somehow managing to radiant innocence and mischievousness at the same time. When a crowd began to gather, the boy laughed and skated ahead with a wave over the shoulder.

"The storm will be here soon. We'd better hurry!"

With a nervous glance at Kanda, Allen tugged faintly on his collar and allowed himself to be abruptly dragged forward. Sighing, he muttered under his breath, "A storm is most definitely coming."

* * *

The rest of the afternoon passed similarly. Jean had made it a point to ensure Kanda suffered as much as possible, and with Allen preventing the other exorcist form killing the boy, he happily got away with it. Several flowerpots and chairs did suffer Kanda's wrath though. Plus, the ringing sound of vehement swearing in Japanese seemed to be consistently echoing throughout the small house.

Kanda had just broken his third chair with his Mugen when Allen decided to intervene. Sheepish smile on his face, he whispered to Jean, "Could you maybe be a little nicer to Kanda? You've probably noticed, but he gets…angry easily."

The boy folded his arms and scoffed in response, shooting a sideways glance at the longhaired exorcist (who was presently sporting pink highlights thanks to Jean's last trick). Frown set in place, he declared, "But he _likes_ you!"

Allen paused for a moment, waiting for his mind to fully process what the boy was saying. His face heated up before he even realized, and his hand rose to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Uhm, t-that's…"

"So do you, you brat!" Kanda raged from the other side of the room. "And don't even try to deny it, kuso gaki!"

Jean shrugged and extended a finger in Kanda's direction. "See? He said '_so do you_.' He even admits it."

Another long string of curses sounded along with the sound of more wood breaking, making Allen flinch.

"I'm just trying to protect you this time, Allen," Jean stated seriously, eyes set. When Allen's expression softened, the boy continued slowly, "You're too nice all the time. A jerk like him couldn't possibly deserve you. Even if he _is_ pretty. Did he trick you into it because you're a little slow?"

Speechless, Allen allowed his jaw to mechanically open and close a few times before covering his face with his gloved hand to hide his blatantly flushed face.

"Jean, that's—… Hey, wait. Did you just call me _slow_?"

"You _are_ slow, moyashi," Kanda snapped.

Allen pouted in response, making Timcanpy tug on Kanda's hair to avenge his master. With Timcanpy persistently tugging on his bangs, Kanda growled and swatted at the little gold golem like he would a fly. Unfortunately for Kanda, Timcanpy had learned to dodge from past experience and was expertly dodging all of Kanda's swipes. Watching them interact, Allen could not help but begin to laugh.

Jean watched in silent fascination as Allen rose to his feet and crossed the room to Kanda's side. The snow-haired exorcist gently tugged Timcanpy away from Kanda's head and grinned up at the taller boy. With a soft laugh and shimmering eyes, he commented, "Somehow, that expression seems to suit you, Kanda. And the pink _does_ look good on you."

"Shut up, old-man-hair," Kanda called back stiffly with a scoff and the faintest tint of red in his face. He folded his arms in irritation as Allen casually leaned a bit closer to him, his laugh ringing just a little lighter and clearer.

It was then when Jean realized he had probably lost this round (he would get Kanda yet though).

And then the storm finally passed.

* * *

At the train station, Jean handed Allen a bag filled with his inventions. A firm and serious expression on his face, he declared stonily, "Now you can be prepared if _Kanan_ decides to pounce on you."

Timcanpy fluttered his wings heartily in agreement from where he sat on the boy's head.

Allen smiled in response, bringing a gloved hand up to pat the boy's head lightly. With a laugh, he said, "Thanks for looking out for me. But don't worry so much. He's actually nice to me most of the time. Kanda can be an explosive princess-type sometimes, but even then, I still like him too. It's kind of what makes him cute."

"Yeah, I know," Jean muttered in defeat, shoving his hands in his pockets. Lifting his head again with a bit more resolution, he commanded firmly, "But if he's mean to you again, you don't have to hold back! Just beat him up! I'm sure you can against a girly-guy like him!"

"Could you two _not_ talk about me like I'm not standing right here?" Kanda asked darkly, glaring irritably from where he stood beside Allen (and had been standing for the duration of their conversation). Again, Allen's soft, sheepish smile rendered him speechless. Instead of finding more words to say, he simply closed his eyes and turned away with a frown chiseled into his face.

"Anyway!" Jean called, finally turning to Kanda. Once the older exorcist let his sideways gaze fall on his, the boy stated firmly, "You better be nice to Allen. And if you do any x-things to him, I'll invent something to make you impotent."

Raising an eyebrow while Allen choked in mortified shock, Kanda felt his expression change faintly. Smirk crossing his lips, he reached out and yanked the still-flustered Allen towards him. Once the snow-haired boy was dizzily pinned to his chest, Kanda leaned forward and with deliberate slowness, gently licked the wound Allen had recently received on his cheek. The younger exorcist shivered faintly and slumped forward in his arms with a humiliated expression on his face. Smirk widening a fraction, Kanda shot a side glance at Jean, as if declaring his victory.

Staring back with a nonchalant expression, Jean stated in a deadbeat tone, "Be expecting a package soon, _Kanan_."

"I'll make sure to have Rabi open it."

All's fair in love and war, after all.

Owari.

* * *

**A/N:** I don't mean to keep writing short ficlets like this, but it's too tempting and too _fun_. Apparently, I have a complex for having everyone after Allen. 8D ♥ Also, Kanda being immature seems to make me happy, hee.

Thanks for reading and happy new year!


End file.
